HB763: HB763 Richmond Hill-Bryan County Airport Authority Act; enact

This bill sets up a new local government body, the Richmond Hill-Bryan County Airport Authority, to develop and run public-use general aviation airports and landing fields in Bryan County. The authority would be a political subdivision of the state with its own legal existence, able to buy, lease, and sell property, enter contracts, and manage airport operations. The authority would have 11 members: seven appointed by Bryan County and Richmond Hill governing bodies (including the county manager and city manager), and four appointed by Bryan County's legislative delegation. It can issue revenue bonds to pay for construction, secured only by airport revenues, not taxpayer money from the county or city. The bill also sets meeting rules, requires an organizational meeting by April 30, 2026, and takes effect immediately once signed by the Governor.

• Establishes the Richmond Hill-Bryan County Airport Authority as a permanent public corporation and political subdivision of Georgia, separate from the county and city governments.
• Sets the authority's membership at 11 people, with appointment methods and four-year terms specified for most posts.
• Allows the authority to buy, lease, sell, and hold real and personal property, and to build, operate, and maintain airports and landing fields inside and outside Bryan County.
• Authorizes the authority to issue revenue bonds, backed only by airport revenues and fees, to pay for airport construction and improvements, exempt from state taxation.
• States that revenue bonds are not a debt of Bryan County or Richmond Hill and cannot obligate either government to raise taxes or make payments.
• Requires the authority to set fees and rates aimed at making its airports as financially self-sustaining as possible.

Bryan County and Richmond Hill residents and governments, the county manager and city manager who serve on the authority, the Bryan County legislative delegation that appoints members, potential bondholders who purchase authority-issued revenue bonds, and businesses or pilots who use the airport facilities.

The bill creates a new local governing body with real financial and property powers, including the ability to borrow money through bonds and manage airport land, while explicitly shielding county and city taxpayers from liability for that debt. It changes how airport development in Bryan County would be planned and funded.

• Section 2 creates the authority as a body corporate and politic, a political subdivision of Georgia with perpetual existence.
• Section 3 sets the 11-member structure: seven appointed by county and city governments (including the county manager and city manager) and four by the Bryan County legislative delegation, with four-year terms for most posts.
• Section 4 requires an organizational meeting by April 30, 2026, quarterly meetings thereafter, compliance with Georgia's Open Meetings Law, and a four-member quorum.
• Section 7 grants broad powers including acquiring and disposing of property, entering contracts, borrowing money, and requesting eminent domain through the city or county (the authority itself cannot condemn property).
• Section 8 authorizes revenue bonds with terms up to 30 years, payable solely from a special fund of authority revenues under the state's 'Revenue Bond Law' (O.C.G.A. Title 36, Chapter 82).
• Section 11 exempts the authority's bonds, their transfer, and their income from state taxation.
• Section 17 states that revenue bonds are not a debt of Richmond Hill or Bryan County and do not require those governments to levy taxes or make payments.
• Section 32 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without signature.

1. 2025-05-01Effective Date 2025-05-01
2. 2025-05-01Act 61
3. 2025-05-01House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-09House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-28Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-28Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-03-27Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-03-25House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Ron Stephens (R, HD-164)Primary sponsor
• Jesse Petrea (R, HD-166)
• Lehman Franklin (R, HD-160)

1. PassedHouse voteMarch 25, 2025

   170 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 4 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #302

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 28, 2025

   53 yea, 0 nay (1 not voting, 2 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #313

• airport authority
• Bryan County government
• Richmond Hill
• revenue bonds
• local government creation